Germany manager Joachim L w expressed his delight at the results from the international break following his side’s second win in four days — the latest a 3-2 win at Hampden Park on Monday
Germany took a step closer to wrapping up their qualification for the 2016 European Championships with a close-fought 3-2 win against Scotland in Glasgow on Monday. Bayern Munich star Thomas MA?ller continued his outstanding early-season form with a brace, whilst Dortmund midfielder lkay GA?ndoAYan scored the winner in the 54th minute.
Scotland were a greatly improved side from their poor showing in Georgia on last Friday, but were unable to deal with the intelligence and movement of the Germany attackers in the final third. Gordon Strachan rang the changes for the Group D encounter against Joachim L w’s men, with one of them — Crystal Palace midfielder James McArthur — scoring an exquisite goal for the Scots.
L w happy with international break with Germany on the brink of qualification
The World Cup winning coach insisted after the game that his side deserved the win as they were in complete control of the game. L w also expressed his satisfaction at having won maximum points from this international break as his side take a step closer to EURO qualification.
“The objective of Poland and this game was six points and that is exactly what we have done,” L w is quoted as saying by ESPN FC. “So I am proud to say that we have made big steps towards France in 2016.”
“As far as this particular match is concerned, it was anything but easy for long stretches of the game particularly as Scotland were practically surrounding their own box, operating long balls and hoping for dead ball situations in front of our box.
“We largely controlled this game and didn’t allow Scotland any chances in open play. We were in possession most of the time and the win was well-deserved.”
L w also had words of praise for in-form Thomas MA?ller, who bettered his goal tally from Friday’s game against Poland by scoring a brace at Hampden. “Thomas has a run and he’s where a forward has to be. He has a nose for such situations.”
Strachan insists Scotland still have a chance
Despite losing both of their Group D qualifiers in the international break, manager Gordon Strachan believes the Scots still stand a chance of qualifying. Scotland now need to win their remaining games against Poland and Gibraltar, but also need the Republic of Ireland to slip up in their remaining Group D fixtures against Poland and Germany.
Speaking after the game, Strachan said (via BBC Sport): “Let’s get this straight; we are still in this. I can’t wait to get them back together. I’m really proud of them and they should be proud of themselves.
“They’re a bit disappointed in there but I can feel within that disappointment that they gave it a good shot. We were just a fraction away tonight from being the perfect performance. We’re three or four passes from being a right good side.
“There’s a couple of times in my managerial career when I get angry, I get sad, and actually at this point you actually feel for the players.
“Whatever you think, over two games they’ve put in some amount of work. Sometimes football is more than what you eat, what you drink, how you train – it’s inside you.
“Every one of those guys has got something inside them that drives them on. To go behind against the world champions, go behind again and you keep coming back, keep plugging away – they can be proud of their performances.”
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The Scots will now need that same fighting spirit as well as the luck of the Irish to qualify for the tournament proper in France next summer.